Iron -Man: Forever & Ever
by Tonymylove
Summary: She is his most fiercely guarded secret, one that, barring people he can count on the fingertips of one hand, no one knows about. She is his muse, his motivation, his friend, his confidant, his most loyal supporter, his sanity, his heaven and his earth, his life, his family – and today he stands to lose everything! My first attempt at writing a fan-fic! Hope you all enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Tony

Tony stood outside the doors to the Stark Building watching Amii leave with pretty-boy Charles Mantle. He sighed and walked back in knowing that he had taken too long and that she was gone. The sky darkened, and the rain started to pour as he went back to his office to continue working on improvements to his the latest version of the Iron Man suit. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't concentrate, so he gave up and went home, his thoughts still on Amii.

Amii was Tony's oldest friend and an incredibly brilliant scientist. She was the one person, other than himself, who knew everything about the Iron Man suits. Tony ran a lot of his ideas by her and she always came up with something that improved upon his inventions and she had a unique capability to visualize how one of his modifications could work (or in some cases not work) in real life situations. He relied on her to always be honest with him and keep him on track when things got out of control.

Tony had met Amii in high school, the daughter of one of her father's employees – a brilliant man by the name TJ Singh. Both Tony and Amii being geniuses had been the youngest kids in the class and stood above everyone in terms of intelligence and sheer aptitude for scientific creativity. What had started off as a rivalry, with each trying to outdo the other, had turned into a strong friendship when, at age 11, Amii's parents died in a skiing accident and Howard, Tony's father, took the responsibility to ensure she got the best education that money could buy when he saw how talented and brilliant she was. Amii was grateful for this gesture and had gone to work for Howard after finishing her studies. She was one of the strongest willed person Tony had ever met and she had been his rock when he had lost his parents some years later. Tony's experiences in Afghanistan had changed something deep inside of him. He took the incidents as a second chance that life had given him, and he was determined to do it right this time.

After his return he had immersed himself into developing his armor so that he can defend the innocent as Iron Man. It was not easy, and he had to overcome tremendous opposition and life-threatening circumstances to get this far. Of all the people around him there were only a few who actually understood his motivations and were intensely loyal. Amii was one of them and had supported him, taken intense pressure from the board for him, while secretly helping him design improvements for the weapons that his suit used. But no one knew of her existence outside the company, and even within it she was considered a lone wolf, a weird nerd who kept to herself and her work – but no one, except Tony knew her brilliance and that she preferred to remain in the background.

Amii headed the defense R&D department at Stark Industries and, along with his assistant Pepper Potts-Hogan, was one of the reasons the company continued to function profitably while Tony had been on his spiral of booze, parties, girls, and pleasure. He had reached out to her immediately after he escaped from captivity and a lot of shit had happened since, but one thing that struck him was Amii's understanding of the motives behind his decisions and the way she recalibrated her division and handled the intense scrutiny that she was under. In more ways than one, she had saved his company from imploding. And she had realized that Tony was working on modifications to the crude armor he had built in a cave in Afghanistan and had offered to help him with the design and he had been grateful for it. Tony and Amii spent many an evening (and weekend) working on and testing tweaks to the propulsion systems, the repulsors, and flight mechanisms of the suit.

That's when he had begun to notice things about Amii, things he had never noticed before – the way her voice changed when she was excited about a new idea she'd come up with, her habit of tucking a pencil behind her ear just so that it was handy, the way she ribbed him when she found a flaw in his schematics, her fierce loyalty to the company, and to him. But now it was too late to do or say anything she seemed to be totally into Charles. Tony sighed and gave up on trying to work and decided to go to bed instead, hoping that some rest would help to clear his thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Amii

Amii was so happy she could not stop smiling. It was Friday and Charles had picked her up from work and dropped her home. They had plans for the evening. He was going to Harlem's Paradise to meet some friends and see some of his favorite bands perform at the club, then he would meet her for dinner at her favorite restaurant. She smiled when she thought about her plan to ask Charles to come up to her apartment for a nightcap….and maybe they might end up spending the night together. It was the first time in a long time that she had felt this way – ecstatic, anxious, happy and scared all at once. She nervously looked at herself one more time in the mirror.

Amii was not very tall at 5'3" but she was slim and had curves in all the right places. Her lustrous black hair fell in long natural waves down to the middle of her back and complemented her large dark brown eyes and thick lashes. Her skin was smooth and was golden brown in color. She was wearing deep red, off-shoulder dress and had just a hint of make-up on to accentuate her naturally beautiful features. She had not been on a date in a long time and was feeling a little jittery. Satisfied that she looked appropriately dressed for the evening, as she glanced out the window she saw that the weather had cleared and suddenly had the idea to go to the club and surprise Charles. It was not her type of club or her type of music, but he seemed to like it and she wanted to give it a try. She really liked him and wanted to be a part of his world. So, she got dressed and hailed a cab to the club, smiling when she imagined the look on his face when she surprised him there.

Amii took an Uber to the club, paid the cover and got inside. The first thing that hit her was the smell of smoke, sweat, and alcohol that seemed to permeate the place. The music was loud, and the song had more cuss-words than actual lyrics, but the beat was catchy. She looked around the dimly lit dancefloor trying to spot Charles amidst the mass of intoxicated, gyrating bodies all around her. She got bumped, groped, and shoved more than once as she made her way through the crowd looking for Charles, but she couldn't spot him. She thought that maybe he hadn't arrived yet and was just about to leave when a movement in the balcony above caught her eye. There was Charles, a drink in one hand and a curvaceous woman in the other. Amii was shocked, she couldn't breathe, it was as if someone had punched her in the gut. She watched as Charles began grinding against the woman, laughing and fondling her breasts and ass as she laughed. Amii backed into a dark corner, her eyes transfixed on the scene playing out above her – Charles, who always acted like the perfect gentleman was publicly making out with another woman.

She didn't know how to react – one part of her wanted to march right up to him and punch him in the face, while another part of her felt betrayal like she had never known before. The last straw was when she saw him snort some drug off of the woman's shoulders while a second woman brought him a bottle of whiskey. The women began kissing each other while he urged them on. From the looks of it, this was not the first time that these three people found themselves groping each other on the balcony of the club. Suddenly Amii felt sick, the bile rising in her throat, the air around her was suffocating, she felt claustrophobic, her head was pounding…she ran out of the club and into the street gasping for fresh air. One of the bouncers asked her if she was ok, and if she needed him to call her a cab. She vaguely remembered saying that she was fine and didn't need help and walked away, her head spinning, her legs shaking, her heart feeling as if it had been ripped apart.

She walked and walked and walked till her legs refused to move anymore. She looked around and saw that she was at a park at the edge of the river and it was dark. She had no idea how long she had been walking and where she was. She collapsed on the first bench she could find and began to cry – her sobs wracking her body, her mind in a turmoil just like the deep, dark waters of the river she sat by.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Amii

Although Amii was a brilliant scientist and could hold her own against anyone in the weapons manufacturing industry, she lived a lonely life – she had lost her parents while she was still a child and had put up a wall around herself to keep out the pain, and as a result had very few friends. She used her work as an excuse to escape the loneliness and emptiness inside, and though her work brought her immense success and satisfaction, she still yearned to fill the void in her heart.

Her father, Tejdeep Singh (popularly known as TJ) had been a brilliant scientist who had come to study nuclear physics at MIT from India in the mid-1950's and then had decided to make this country his home when he was offered a job at Stark Industries. TJ had worked with Howard Stark on some of the top-secret programs for the US Department of Defense and, in the process, had become friends with him. Her mother, Uma, had been a dancer, trained in the Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam. She had been part of a troupe of dancers who had come to participate in a cultural exchange program and had performed at one of Stark Industries sponsored cultural events. Her father had told her that he had been smitten by Uma the first time he had seen her on stage that night and had pleaded with common friends to get introduced. He had courted her for the duration of her stay in the US and had asked her to marry him the day before she was to return to India. She had been nonchalant towards his advances and had told him that if he wanted to marry her he had to get approval from her parents – that's the way things worked in her family.

TJ had flown to India and after much struggle had finally managed to convince Uma's parents to let him marry their only daughter. The wedding had been a simple affair and Uma had relocated to the US with TJ. She had continued to teach classical Indian dance and had run a small dance academy in New York. Amii adored her parents and they had doted on their only child who had inherited her father's brains and mother's looks. TJ had noticed Amii's genius and encouraged and challenged her by pushing her limits in any activity she undertook. Her aptitude for science and math had become evident at school and TJ had ensured that she attended the best of schools that could nurture her talent.

TJ and Uma had died in a tragic accident in which their house had burned down with them in it while Amii had been away at science camp. Howard Stark had personally come down to the camp to break the news to her and it had been a massive shock for Amii. Her world had been turned upside down overnight. She had nowhere to go and no family she could call upon as both sets of grandparents were dead and both her parents had been only children. The Starks had taken her in and settled her into one of their programs for gifted children. She often spent her holidays – at least the ones where she was not working on side projects – at the Stark residence.

After her parents' death, she had closed herself off, built a wall around herself and withdrawn into that enclosure for a long time. She immersed herself in her studies, taking on increasingly challenging assignments at school which left her with hardly any time to make friends. Though she and Tony had been extremely competitive at first, her parents' death changed things and Tony went out of his way to befriend her. That was one of his special abilities – his compassion and empathy, even at 11 – that always set him apart. He had a gift for reading people's emotions and, somehow, he always found a way to make people feel better. He had stood up for her when school bullies called her an orphan, and a nerd and when she asked him why he'd said that's what friends do. He had stood by her through her struggles with coping with the loss, and had been her friend through her darkest hours, and she was eternally grateful for that. Both of them had gone to MIT and while Tony studied electrical engineering and physics, she had gone on to study mechanical and aeronautical engineering.

And then Howard and Maria had died in a car crash. For her it was like losing another set of parents and she was the one standing by Tony's side as he processed the pain and loss of his parents' death, especially his mother. While Tony took over the reins of Stark Industries, she had gone on to do a PhD in nuclear physics like her father. Though she met Tony once in a while, they began growing apart as she was engrossed in her studies and he was sucked into the corporate world. At one of their increasingly rare meetings, Tony had asked her to join Stark Industries and head up the weapons R&D division and she had readily accepted the offer. She had plunged headlong into her work while Tony descended into the high-flying, party lifestyle. Then everything went topsy turvy when he was kidnapped by terrorists.

After his escape, Amii had been the first person Tony had called, and she had flown out to meet him at Bagram Airbase in the Stark jet. Tony had asked her to keep her trip a complete secret and she had done that. When she had seen a bruised and battered Tony climb up the stairs to the jet, she did not know whether she was more relieved or horrified. They had hugged each other like long lost friends and she had immediately noticed that something was different about him. Captivity had irrevocably changed him, and she had cried with him and for him as, over several hours, he narrated the torture he had been subject to, the things he had seen and heard, and what he had done to escape.

Tony had become uncharacteristically silent after this catharsis and had sat staring outside the plane window for a while. Then when he turned back to her, she had seen in his eyes something fierce, a determination, a commitment and a resolve that she had never seen before. He had told her that he planned to shut down the weapons manufacturing division and he asked for her advice on how to manage the fallout. He had also told her that the terrorists had acquired Stark Industry weapons and he suspected some double dealing at the highest levels in the company. Amii understood the complexity of the situation and had come up with a plan to reorganize the weapons division into a new business unit that researched technology with the potential to change lives and positively impact the planet.

The fallout of his decision to stop manufacturing weapons was massive! Bigger than she had imagined…with the stock crashing, and the company losing many a lucrative deal. While she worked behind the scenes to control the damage, Tony stood in the limelight, taking all the flak and owning up to the circumstances that led him to this decision and the global challenges he was planning to address with the new business focus. And then he announced that he was Iron Man!

Things went batshit crazy after that! She worked with him as he rebuilt the image of Stark Industries, nearly got killed by Obadiah Stane and embraced his Iron Man persona. She had helped him build a newer, sleeker version of the armor and had designed the propulsion and weapons systems for the suit. When Tony was chosen to lead the Avengers initiative, he had brought Nick Fury to meet her and had made an arrangement with S.H.I.E.L.D to keep Amii's involvement with developing the Iron Man armors a secret as he did not want her to become the target for crazy super-villains. In return, Fury had wanted Amii to assist in developing technology for S.H.I.E.L.D under the contract with Stark Industries and to this she had agreed. Tony had handed over the reins of CEO to his assistant Pepper Potts-Hogan and Amii had to admit that this time he had made the right choice. Pepper was competent and had a way of dealing with people – and anyways she had been running the business for a long time while Tony partied away. Amii had stayed on as the Head of the new R&D department while continuing to work with Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D on the side.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Amii

Then she had met Charles at one of the office Christmas parties. He had just joined Stark Industries as the Chief Marketing Officer for the Future Tech division and he was intelligent as well as charming. They had hit it off at the party and though she was reluctant to get involved with a co-worker he had wooed her incessantly and she had finally fallen for his charms. The thought of Charles brought a fresh set of tears began flowing down her cheeks. She bit back her sobs and looked at her watch – a gift from Tony for her birthday – and checked the time – 12.30am. She took out her phone and found that there had several missed calls from Charles and a message asking her where she was. She deleted the message and his number from her phone as she began sobbing again.

She must have fallen asleep, because the noise jolted her awake. It sounded like someone was arguing. Amii propped herself up on her elbow and peeked over the back of the bench. She saw two bedraggled men under a street lamp arguing over what looked like a woman's handbag. One of the men was yelling at the other to hand over his cut of the loot and that he needed a fix before he lost it completely. Amii looked around and realized she was alone in the park and that if the men realized she was there, she would be their next victim. Her heart was pounding as she contemplated her next move – should she risk it and make a break for it? Should she stay hidden and hope that the men went away? Right at that moment her phone rang – "shit, shit, shit" she cursed under her breath as she started digging into her handbag searching for it.

One of the men said "Hey, wait, do you hear that? There's someone else here". "It might be the cops, let's get outta here", said the other. "No, if it was the cops they'd have busted us, its not the cops, and it looks like the sound is coming from that bench over there. Com'on let's go, take a look".

Amii had managed to silence the phone, but she realized that the men had gone silent. She risked a peek and saw them heading towards her, keeping to the shadows on each side, there was no way she could make a run for it now. Amii had taken martial arts lessons and was a blackbelt in Taekwondo and Jujitsu, but the first rule she had been taught was to avoid conflict when possible. She heard the soft flick of a knife on her right and knew the men were armed. As adrenalin kicked in, she decided to face off her attackers and quietly removed her heels, and gripped them tightly, ready to use the spiked heels as a weapon.

The two men were almost upon her when she jumped out from behind the bench and attacked the man closest to her, she kicked him in the gut and hit him in the face with the heel of her shoe. The other man tried grabbing her from behind, but she stamped on his foot and punched him in the nose. The first guy came at her with the knife and she managed to dodge him, but the second guy tackled her from behind and she went down, crashing into a bush. She felt a burning sensation on her cheek where the branches had scratched her and there was a deep throbbing in her right hand where several splinters of wood had poked into her palm. She grunted as the man kicked her in the stomach and knocked the wind out of her. He kicked her again on her ribs and she heard something crack as the pain blinded her. She curled up in agony, clutching her midsection and screaming, but the man mercilessly kicked her again. Pain racked through her body as she felt him grab her hair and twist it while pulling her up "Oh, youse gonna get it now, missy," said the guy with the knife, "Bobby here don' like bitches who put up a fight. Youse broke his nose, he gonna carve you up for dat." The second man took out a nasty looking hunting knife and began to approach her while wiping the blood from his face. Amii realized she was in bigger trouble than she'd anticipated, and she could feel her heart pounding in her throat.

She suddenly remembered the watch that Tony had given her, it had a button she could press in an emergency, and Tony had promised her that help would arrive within minutes. She pressed the button just as Bobby put the knife at her throat and said "Ooh, look whatcha done, bitch, you ruined my face. I'm think I'm gonna cut up that pretty face of yours but first hand me your stuff…that necklace looks like real gold, as does that watch. Com'on now, give it up quickly, and I might just spare you". "Hey Bobby", said the second man, "look at the money in her purse! This is gonna get us enough meth for a week!" "What's a classy broad like you doin' in this part of town, eh?" said Bobby as he snatched her chain and the watch "That's some fancy perfume" said Bobby as he put his broken nose on her neck and sniffed. Amii felt a shiver go down her spine as Bobby ran his fingers down her arm and said "Hey, Jonesey, looks like we got ourselves some classy pussy tonight…ha ha ha…let's have some fun before we cut her up, eh". Amii did not really believe in God, but at that moment she began praying with all her might that the button worked, she was in really big trouble now.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Tony

Tony was fast asleep when the alarm began buzzing. "What's the problem, J.A.R.V.I.S, why is the alarm ringing?" asked Tony. "Ms. Singh is in trouble, Mr. Stark" announced J.A.R.V.I.S' voice, "The emergency button on her watch was pressed a moment ago, sir". That jolted Tony awake faster than a double shot of espresso. "Details, J.A.R.V.I.S" said Tony as he pressed the wristband and his suit began to assemble itself around him. "The location is Riverbank State Park, sir, I'm pinging the satellite for visuals" said J.A.R.V.I.S. "Alright, send me what you get" said Tony as he took off towards the GPS coordinates from Amii's watch. What he saw when J.A.R.V.I.S projected the satellite images sent fear and anger cruising through him. Amii was on the ground, her face bloody, her dress torn, and two men with knives hovering over her.

He picked up speed as he rocketed over the buildings of Manhattan, praying that he would be on time.

Amii's head and ribs were throbbing, her face burning on the side she'd grazed as the two men grabbed her and pulled her up and began to drag her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you", she heard a familiar voice say. She looked up and saw Iron Man land in front of her assailants. "Get your filthy hands off of MY girl" she heard him say before he used his repulsor blasts to knock Bobby and Jonesey away. Both men tumbled through the air before landing several feet way in a heap. "Now get your asses out of here before I turn the heat on" he said. The two junkies scrambled away. "I need a patrol car to pick up a couple of junkies headed towards 145 St. They just attacked a woman in Riverbank Park. Yes, she is safe" said Tony as he walked up to Amii.

"Tony…" Amii managed to mumble before she lost consciousness. He scooped her up in his arms as she fainted and flew her back to his home. He put her down on the bed gently in his and got out of his suit. He looked at her bloody face, her torn clothes and heard her moaning in pain as felt a fresh wave of anger coursed through his veins – more anger than he had ever felt before. "Dr. Johnson is here, Mr. Stark" announced J.A.R.V.I.S. Tony gently lifted Amii's head and put a pillow under it as the doctor and a nurse entered. Tony was ushered outside as the nurse began cutting Amii's dress open and the doctor checked her pulse and blood pressure. The medical staff were S.H.I.E.L.D agents and Tony had called them on the way home. The doctor knew him well and had treated him after his fights with bad guys which sometimes left him injured despite the protection the suit offered him. Plus, they had access to technology that could greatly accelerate the healing process that you would not find at a regular hospital.

Tony paced anxiously, waiting for the doctor to finish treating Amii. "Maybe you should get some rest, sir" said J.A.R.V.I.S. "Shut up, J.A.R.V.I.S, how can I rest while the woman I love lies bruised and battered?" said Tony. "Does she know that, sir?" asked J.A.R.V.I.S. "No, she doesn't, I will never be the man she deserves with this thing in my chest that poisons me while keeping me alive. As long as I am Iron Man she will never be safe with me, so it doesn't matter what I feel. This conversation is over and if you ever tell her about this, I swear I will pull the plug on you". "If you say so, Mr. Stark" said J.A.R.V.I.S.

Amii heard faint voices and a buzzing, humming and hissing as something that felt like soothing, cold fingers ran up and down her aching body. She opened her eyes, but her vision was foggy and though the place seemed familiar she couldn't tell where she was and how she got here. Her body burned in pain that she could not focus on anything. She felt someone jab a needle into her arm and within a few seconds she drifted off into a deep but troubled sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Amii

Amii was running down a dark road. Something was chasing her, she did not know what it was, but she knew it meant her harm. She ran and ran till her lungs burned and her breathing became ragged. She turned her head around to look over her shoulder but tripped and went sprawling on the ground. She felt hot breath down her neck which made her skin break out in goosebumps, something grabbed her head and she felt something wet on her face. It was Bobby and Jonesey and Bobby was licking her face and neck.

Amii screamed as she opened her eyes and bolted up, but that sent a spear of pain rippling through her body and she breathed in sharply. She looked around and saw bright sunshine flooding in through the large windows and then she saw Tony, his expression a mix of fear and concern, a wet towel in his hand and a bowl of water clattering on the floor. She had knocked it out of his hands. It took her a couple of minutes to shake off the nightmare and she gasped as she remembered what had happened. She looked around and saw that she was in Tony's home, in his bed, and his shirt, and remembered Iron Man coming to her rescue…the emergency button had worked!

"Hey, hey, hey…take it easy" Tony said, "You scared the bejesus out of me! I was just trying to clean up the blood on your face…don't kill me for that!" She smiled back, but immediately regretted it as it sent sharp, burning pain on one side of her face. "Sorry. And thank you for coming to my rescue", she mumbled, sinking back into the bed "literally like a knight in shining armor" she smiled faintly. "Glad you noticed the fresh wax job on the suit. That's some power of observation given the situation you were in", he teased. "You know I have an eye for detail when it comes to tech. By the way, what time is it?", Amii asked. "It's 10 o'clock, Sunday morning, you've been out for a whole day", he replied "So, what the heck happened the other night? Why were you in the park so late at night and where the hell was Charles? Weren't you supposed to be with him or something?", Tony asked, getting serious. Amii remembered everything that had happened, and tears began flowing down her cheeks. "Hey, hey…nothing happened to you, you are fine, and the bad guys are in jail. I didn't mean to get on your case, ok. Please, Amii, I can't see you cry...there, there" said Tony as put his arms around Amii and stroked her back. "It's not the junkies, its Charles", Amii managed between sobs.

She told Tony about all the events that led her to getting assaulted in the park, his expression getting angrier by the minute. "Why that son of a bitch!? I'm going to make a dent in that pretty face of his", said Tony as he pressed the button on his wristband and his suit began attaching itself to him. "No, Tony, no. It's not worth it" said Amii, "Let him go, I don't want to see his face or hear his name again. He is a lowlife…I was a fool for falling for him and I want to have nothing to do with him." She suddenly began trembling, "Please, Tony, let it go. I need you here with me". Tony paused for a moment, looked at her tear strewn face and realized that she was still in a bit of shock from the events of last night. He disassembled his suit and sat down next to her, "I cannot see you cry and anyone who breaks your heart will pay…Charles is no exception!" Tony held Amii till the trembling passed and then gently eased her into bed. "Now lie down like good girl and let me get you something to eat" said Tony softly as he cleared up the spilt water and left the room.

Amii winced in pain as even a slight attempt to shift around caused her ribs to hurt. She lifted the shirt to look at her injuries – she had a bandage around her torso where some ribs had most likely been broken, her right hand had a bandage around it and her face felt like it had been stung by bees. "Don't worry, you'll be fine soon. The injuries are not too serious, just a couple of bruised ribs, scratched face and palms. We'll have you out and about in a matter of days." said a voice. Amii turned and saw Dr. Johnson walking into the room with Tony right behind him, a tray of food in his hands. Dr. Johnson inspected her vitals, checked her bandages and gave her a couple of vials of pills "Take these twice a day after food…painkillers and antibiotics. You'll be right as rain by Monday or Tuesday. I'll come back to see you Monday morning, and make sure you get a lot of rest" he said. "I'll make sure she gets rest, doc", said Tony, ushering the doctor out after he had placed a plate of food in front of Amii.

The smell of the food made Amii suddenly realize she was starving she ravenously began eating her food, she looked up as Tony came back into the room and went to stand by the windows, looking out at the city and she felt immensely thankful for his presence and his role in rescuing her. "Thank you, Tony, for everything", she said. He turned back and smiled at her, "Anything for you, sweetheart. Now take your medicines and get some rest," said Tony "I sent Happy to get you a change of clothes. They're in the bathroom. Maybe a shower will make you feel better." As Amii got up to go to the bathroom she heard Tony say "Don't go crying again! If you do I will have to break that perfect little nose on Charles' face!" She turned around and saw him with that wicked grin of his and couldn't help but smile. "There! See that's the way I like you best...smiling! And FYI as of this moment he's fired. You'll never have to see him again." he said and closed the door behind him.

Amii felt tired, both physically and emotionally, and after a hot shower, she felt the sedatives kick in and she fell asleep as soon as she got back into bed.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Tony

Tony was still furious. He paced angrily in the workshop. "Something wrong, sir?" asked J.A.R.V.I.S. "Yes, a lot's wrong and I'm going to fix it. Draw out a memo firing Charles Mantle and ask Pepper to cancel all my appointments for the next week. I will be unavailable for calls, meetings, press or anything else that will require me to be away from Amii for more than 10 minutes….and give me a status report on Amii" he ordered. "Yes, sir", replied J.A.R.V.I.S. "Ms. Singh is sleeping, sir, and a scan reveals that her vital stats are normal. The medication seems to be working well, sir." "Good…good. Let me know when she wakes up", said Tony "and turn up my music, playlist 17, we've got some work to do".

Tony checks his blood using a handheld device. "Check palladium levels".

"Blood toxicity, 24%, sir. It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition. Another core has been depleted." said J.A.R.V.I.S

"God, they're running out quick. How many ounce a day of this gobbledegook am I supposed to drink?" asked Tony as he drank a glass of chlorophyll.

"We are up to 80 ounces a day, sir. I have run simulations on every known element, and none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core. You are running out of both time and options. Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive is also killing you."

"Well, I'm not dying today" said Tony as he began working on some more modifications to his suit, his mind still on Amii.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Amii

Amii's slumber was disturbed. Her dreams were weird, she saw Tony – when they were kids, then teens, at college…she saw flashbacks of their conversations after his return from Afghanistan and her subconscious mind showed her things that she had not registered before – a look here, a comment there. She woke up. It was dark outside, and she had no idea how long she had been asleep, but she felt really hungry, and her injuries didn't hurt as much.

As she lay in bed, her mind delved on Tony…how he had always been there when she needed someone, his uncanny ability to make her smile, his intelligence and his wit and with him there was never a dull moment. No matter how strenuous the task was or how stressed they were, Tony always found a way to keep things fun and make her smile. He never took himself seriously and given the kind of high stakes work they did it was great to have a lab partner who kept her from getting too serious. She thought of earlier that day (or was it yesterday?) the look in Tony's eyes when he'd been tending to her, it was more than just concern…and a couple of times it had seemed that he'd wanted to say something to her but had stopped himself. Amii got up and went to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and stood under the hot stream, letting it wash over her, clearing her thoughts.

She realized that something inside him had changed and it was not just because of the arc reactor in his chest. He no longer partied or went out with whichever girl caught his fancy, and she knew that he had been sober ever since he got back. She realized that his behavior around her had been different for a while now. She had always brushed off his attention as Tony was a hopeless flirt, and she had never taken all those times she caught him staring at her seriously. But thinking about it now as she stood under a hot shower, she heard his voice "Stay away from MY girl", the tenderness with which he'd treated her, his anger at her anguish…and she realized that there might be a deeper significance to his actions.

"J.A.R.V.I.S… has Tony ever said anything about how he feels about me?" she asked. "Well, Ms. Singh, I am not at liberty to disclose anything to you as Mr. Stark has threatened to dismantle me if I do". "Well, J.A.R.V.I.S, if you don't tell me then I will. So, what do you say…are you going to tell me or not?" "Hmmm…Well, technically I cannot tell you how he feels, but he never said anything about him telling it himself" said J.A.R.V.I.S and he replayed a recording of Tony standing by the chamber looking at her and his words "the woman I love" took Amii aback! She had no idea that that's how he felt about her – though he did flirt with her – and with every other woman in the room – that was quintessentially Tony. But she had never imagined that maybe his comments were serious – but then she wasn't paying much attention anyways since she tended to get totally lost in her work and of late her mind had been more on Charles than on Tony.

Amii turned the shower off, wiped the steam from the mirrors and looked at her reflection. She thought back to their childhood, the rivalry at school that had turned into a reluctant friendship based on mutual respect when they realized they could accomplish much more if they worked together. The tragedies that united them, their on-off meetings at college when they would compare their work or seek advice on projects. Tony's offer to work at Stark Industries and the aftermath of his decision to shut down the weapons division. Tony's request for her to work with him on the Iron Man suits and the many nights they spent solving one conundrum after another as they improved upon Tony's initial design. The comfortable silences they could share as each worked on their own part of the projects, the way they could be their own true self around each other…and as these thoughts rushed through her mind, she realized that somewhere inside she loved Tony too – maybe had loved him for a long time though she never expressed it. "J.A.R.V.I.S, where is Tony?" she asked, pulling on her clothes. "Mr. Stark is in the workshop" said J.A.R.V.I.S. "Can you play my favorite song from my playlist 22 when I walk into the workshop, J.A.R.V.I.S?" "Yes, ma'am".

Amii walked barefoot to the workshop, Tony did not hear her coming as he was concentrating on the schematics of his latest improvements to the arc reactor. Nothing Else Matters by Metallica was playing loudly on the speakers

"Never opened myself this way

Life is ours, we live it our way

All these words I don't just say

And nothing else matters

Trust I seek, and I find in you

Everyday for us something new

Open mind for a different view

And nothing else matters"

Amii knew that Tony's choice of music reflected how he felt at that time, "Now, J.A.R.V.I.S" she whispered as she used her code to unlock the door. Metallica was cut-off mid-song and Lionel Richie and Diana Ross began crooning Endless Love on the speakers "J.A.R.V.I.S, is this your idea of a joke? You know I don't like to have my music interrupted" Tony said crossly as he looked up. "It's not J.A.R.V.I.S and it's not a joke" said Amii, walking up to him, "this is how I feel…how I have probably felt for a long time, but never realized it till now".

"My love  
There's only you in my life  
The only thing that's right  
My first love  
You're every breath I take  
You're every step I make

And I  
I want to share  
All my love with you  
No one else will do  
And your eyes (your eyes, your eyes)  
They tell me how much you care  
Oh, yes  
You'll always be  
My endless love"

Amii walked up to Tony, put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love you, Tony Stark, and the last couple of days have reminded me that life is unpredictable and if I don't say this now, I know I will regret it all my life. So…I love you, Tony, and…". Amii was cut off mid-sentence as Tony pulled her closer and kissed her…a kiss full of urgency, untold emotions, a mix of love, fear, relief…a kiss that left her breathless. "I love you too, Amii, I always have…from the day you walked into 8th grade science lab and sat next to me. I lost my way somewhere down the line and I know I have done a lot of things that you did not approve of, but the thought that I might lose you, just made me realize just how much you mean to me" Tony said his eyes filling up "If something had happened to you…you are the only family I've got" he kissed her again and pulled her close.

"What makes you think that I would feel any different just because you have that thing in your chest?" Amii said, poking the arc reactor which was glowing faintly beneath Tony's t-shirt "You are more of a man than anyone I have met, and nothing can ever change that. And what do you mean it's poisoning you?" she added. "Who told you that?" Tony asked "J.A.R.V.I.S I'm going to kill you". "It wasn't J.A.R.V.I.S, it was you…and whatever it is, we can fix it together, like we always do. You are they only constant in my life, and nothing is ever going to change that, I won't let it." She said and kissed Tony again. She sighed as the kiss deepened and their tongues intertwined…his kiss made her insides melt, she realized how strong Tony was when he lifted her up in his arms and she locked her legs around his waist and ran her fingers through his hair. Tony carried her out of the garage and up the stairs, their kiss intensifying with each step…Tony started to nibble her neck and it made her gasp as goosebumps ran down her spine. "Ouch…easy on the ribs there, lover-boy", she said as he hugged her a little tighter. "Oops…sorry, I promise to be careful…you apparently are damaged goods", Tony teased, and she responded by biting his ear. She heard him sigh and felt his body shiver at her bite and she turned the bite into a nibble that had him moaning.

They stopped randomly to remove their clothing and somehow made it to he bedroom without tripping on the stairs or falling over the furniture. Amii knew from Tony's enormous popularity with women (and his 'experiences') that he wasn't all talk and now, as his tongue moved over her neck and collar bone, it felt incredible. It was a little odd too, touching Tony this way…she'd seen him every day for as long as she could remember and had never imagined being in this situation. As he undressed she noticed his muscles – he had been working out hard after he became Iron Man. She also noticed multiple scars and bruises which were just beginning to fade. She ran her hands through his hair as his mouth trailed down her neck. He felt her shiver and looked up into her eyes "Is this okay? Do you like it?" he muttered, his voice low and breathless, and his eyes darker than usual. She gasped "Yes" as he began teasing her nipples with his tongue. Amii felt waves of pleasure wash down her as Tony began planting kisses around her navel. She groaned when his hands moved down to her thighs and he eased down her panties and gently parted her legs— Amii thought "he is so freaking good at this."

She felt his fingers stroking the inside of her thigh and felt his breath on her clitoris…his tongue executing heretofore unknown maneuvers all around her most sensitive area, licking and sucking. He was teasing her and it was making her heart fill up with a kind of pleasure she had never experienced before (not that she had as much experience with men as Tony had with women) and she moaned as he would not give her what she wanted, and then she felt him breathing her in and felt his teeth graze her skin, ever so lightly, as he found the perfect spot. That did it and she sucked in her breath as she came hard…her whole body shuddered, and she moaned "Oh my God, Tony…aaaahhh" as he slid a finger inside her and went straight for her g-spot, making her orgasm go on and on.

Tony moved up to kiss her again and she tasted herself on his tongue and she sighed as his fingers twirled around her nipples. She felt him, hard against her as he gently entered her, determined to prolong the pleasure. She, however, was having a hard time taking it slow and she ground her hips against him and he groaned and closed his eyes. Amii realized that Tony was as into this as she was and that gave her courage to prop herself up on her elbows and kiss his neck, his chest…she ran her hands over the arc reactor in his chest. In that moment she saw weird red markings around the reactor and was going to say something when Tony plunged into her and she couldn't do anything more but give in to the insane pleasure that she was feeling. She made a mental note to ask Tony about it later as he leaned down to kiss her…she swallowed his next groan as she covered his mouth with hers and he continued moving in and out in a random but tantalizingly sexy pattern. She arched her back as he sped up, and a few minutes and quite a few mind-numbingly amazing thrusts later, she was coming again, her back arched, screaming up at the ceiling as he pressed hard into her, his fingers digging into her hips as he pulled her closer…he grunted and sighed as after a few more thrusts he came too. Her own hands gripped his shoulders as the aftershocks continued to rack her, the light of the arc reactor still visible as an afterimage when she closed her eyes feeling as if her heart will burst with joy…she felt complete, insanely content.

She ran a hand through his hair as he lay down beside her, his face pressed into the crook of her neck and he said "I love you, Amii, I don't know why I never said this before, but now I can't stop myself…hell, I don't want to stop saying it…I love you." "I love you too, Tony" she said back as he looked into her eyes and they both smiled at the sweaty mess they'd been reduced to. "Whoa, that was something, wasn't it! I ahd no idea you were a mistress of seduction! As soon as we can move, I think we should do that again." "Right," Amii said "That was too good to be true, it could have been a fluke of chemistry. Further testing is needed to see if we can…duplicate those results. But, for now, my hypothesis is that…experimenting with our newfound physical chemistry is going to result in our not getting out of bed for a while." "Ooh, I love it when you get all sciency, Dr. Singh" he laughed. Amii laughed, "I don't want to move right now, but we may need to…uh, recharge and refuel…before we restart testing". "Agreed," said Tony as he pulled her into his arms and snuggled up next to her. Within moments they were both asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Amii

Amii looked up from her papers as her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and saw a message from Tony asking where she was. The clock on the phone showed that it was well past 9pm. Amii scrunched her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair…she had been so deeply focused on her work that she hadn't even realized how late it was. She quickly responded to the text "On my way home. Have got some exciting news!" as she grabbed her coat from the floor where she had absentmindedly dropped it. She cursed under her breath as she realized her keys had ended up under the desk and she got down on her knees to retrieve them. She had had something of an epiphany earlier in the day and had rushed back to work halfway through her lunch date with Sue Storm. She had found a way to get the arc reactor out of Tony's chest without the shrapnel or the increasing toxicity of his blood killing him thanks to something that Sue had said to her in the afternoon.

"Got it!" she said as her fingers found her key ring. She got up, grabbed the papers on her desk, stuffed them into her overflowing satchel that looked like it might rip at the seams at any moment and was opening her door when she heard a tap-tap on her window. She stopped, puzzled, as her office was 35 stories above street level. The tapping grew harder and when she opened the window and there was Tony waving at her, a crooked smile on his lips. He wooshed past her into the office as a mess of snow and cold air streamed into the building and closed the window behind him. "So, what's the exciting news? What are you doing here so late? You know I don't like being away from you for too long… this place and you look like a mess" said Tony in his usual rapid-fire fashion as he strutted around the office, peeking at the whiteboard full of scribbles in her room. "What are you doing here?" asked Amii, "I was just leaving for home". "It would take too long for you to drive home in this weather, so I thought I'd drop by" said Tony just as there was a knock on the office door, "Ah ha, right on time" he added as he pressed the button to retract his suit and stepped to the door, laughing at the confused look on Amii's face.

He opened the door as Happy walked in with a large basket and a "Hello, Ms. Singh". "Happy, you are so dependable. You make me happy. Thanks for delivering this, now scoot. I need some alone time with the beautiful, no…messy, doctor here" said Tony as Happy placed the basket on the floor and left with a smile, a wink and a bow. "Now, what is all the excitement about?" asked Tony, unpacking the basket. "What is all this?" asked Amii. "Dinner" Tony replied "I guess you are pretty hungry" he added laughing as Amii's stomach rumbled loudly at the mention of food. "I got us some pizza and we can have a picnic here". The smell of hot pizza was irresistible and Amii grabbed a slice out of Tony's hands and bit off a large piece rather ungracefully, plomping down on the sheet that Tony had laid down on the floor. She finished one slice and took another as Tony opened up a bottle of chilled wine and poured her a glass. He took out a large flask of chlorophyll and drank about half of it before asking "So, spill it…what is all the excitement about?". Amii looked at the man she adored and noticed that he looked wan and tired. Tony had had to up in intake of the awful concoction that kept his blood toxicity levels down so much that he could barely stomach real food anymore. Despite all his bravado, Amii knew that he was in pain and was losing hope of making it past Christmas that year. She gently touched Tony's cheek, a tear sliding down her cheek, and said "I think I found a way to get that awful reactor out of your chest without killing you in the process. That is what I have been working on for the last month and today a chance encounter with Sue Storm gave me the critical piece of the puzzle that had been missing so far. We can make you whole again, Tony!...and you won't ever have to drink that hideous stuff".

Tony sat up in attention, the scientist in him taking over "Tell me more" he said, taking Amii's papers out of her bag and spreading them all over the floor. "You see, we found a way to get the shrapnel out, but we could not figure out what to do with that giant hole in your chest as taking the reactor out would kill you in the process" Amii said, the excitement visible on her face and in her voice "but there is a way to get past that hurdle. There is this scientist, a Dr. Helen Cho, in Korea who is working on a machine that can recreate human tissue! Sue was gushing about how amazing it all was at a demo she had been to with the rest of the Fantastic Four where Dr. Cho was able to completely repair injuries from accidents, fire, gunshot, etc. I am certain that her machine could fix that hole in your chest too." "J.A.R.V.I.S. get me all the information on Dr. Helen Cho and her device" said Tony and one of the walls in the office turned into a giant projector where the AI ran through Dr. Cho's background, her past and current research and also managed to find a video of the top-secret demo that Sue had mentioned. "Wait, how did you get that video" asked Amii. "Oh its just a little device I planted in one of the SHEILD servers a while back" said Tony non-chalantly. "You hacked into SHEILD?!" asked Amii incredulously "Well someone has to keep a watch on the watchers and who best to do it than yours truly. But keep your voice down, Fury has eyes and ears everywhere and we don't want him to find out" chuckled Tony as Amii shook her head in and rolled her eyes in disbelief.

Tony was scanning through Amii's diagrams for the electromagnet they had been designing to hold the shrapnel back during surgery. He was firing instructions at J.A.R.V.I.S. and, just like that, he had become impervious to everything else, totally focused on the task. Amii smiled. She loved seeing him like that – focused, in charge and in his element – and she kicked her shoes off, stretched her legs and drank the wine that was chilling in a bucket of ice. She had dozed off when Tony's voice brought her back "I think you got it, sweetheart!" he was beaming "Dr. Cho's device completes our plans. Come on! We need to go home and get you into something halfway decent. We are leaving for Korea. I have all our plans loaded into J.A.R.V.I.S and I have emailed Dr. Cho about our arrival." 'Huh!" was all Amii could say before Tony grabbed her into a giant hug and kissed her with passion "Looks like we will have many Christmases together now!" he added before kissing her again, tears of joy and relief streaming down both their faces.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Tony

The Stark jet was flying somewhere over the Pacific Ocean and Tony was staring out the window at the darkness outside. In some way it mirrored what he had been feeling over the last few months. He had plunged himself into his role as protector and avenger of the innocent and had put too much stress on his own body. Becoming Iron Man was the first time in his life when he had felt alive, had used his intelligence and resourcefulness at the max, and he had to admit it made him feel awesome! It was the first time he had felt the burden of responsibility and had owned up to fact that his actions had consequences That had made him become more cognizant of those around him and he began having new found admiration and appreciation of the people he took for granted – like Happy and Pepper – who had always stood by him even when he had acted like a jackass. He had bought Happy and Pepper a lovely house in the suburbs and had set aside enough money for them to be able to live a life of comfort should they choose to, but they both were of the opinion that he needed them now more than ever and had decided to stick around for as long as they could – Happy seemed to love his role as Iron Man's sidekick a bit too much!

Amii coming into his life had been yet another stroke of luck in Tony's life and he was often amazed how someone as amazing as her had loved his worthless ass all these years. He turned and looked at her curled up on the bed in the back of the plane – she had been exhausted and he had told her she could rest up on the flight to Korea. He looked at her, her black hair falling over the pillows, her lips mouthing something he could not make out, and he felt his heart swell with love. The increasing blood toxicity had got him really worried now that he had someone to live for and he had put every spare minute into researching ways to get the reactor out. Amii had helped fill in some of the gaps in his work and she now had given him to final piece of the puzzle. Tony was looking forward to bein whole again – he hadn't eaten a proper meal in weeks, he just couldn't stomach it, and he was in constant pain though he never mentioned it to Amii. At one point he had even thought of giving up and ending his life in one final battle with some villain, but Amii had sensed his intentions and snapped him out of that depressed state of mind. Tony had decided to spend whatever time he had taking care of those around him and those that needed him as Tony Stark, rather than Iron Man. He had entrusted the company into the able hands of Pepper despite her protests and had made Amii in charge of overseeing the company's transition from weapons manufacturer to the producer of clean energy sources. He had taken time off from avenging and had taken Amii on a holiday to many exotic locations across the world, wanting to make their time together as memorable as possible before he finally kicked it.

Amii, however, refused to give up and had stolen every minute she could to research ways to save him – and he had to give it to the woman, when she set her mind to something she became an unstoppable force! As he saw the sun rising on the horizon, he felt his heart fill with hope for the first time in a long time. Dr. Cho's research was revolutionary, and he had spoken to Reed, Sue, Bruce and Fury and all of them agreed that if anything could save him it was Dr. Cho's chamber. Tony got up and slipped into bed next to Amii, and he put his arms around her. She hugged him back and Tony finally fell into a deep, dreamless sleep in Amii's arms as the jet continued its course towards Seoul.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Amii

Amii woke up as the pilot announced their imminent approach into Seoul. She saw Tony lying face down on the bed and she took a moment to study his face. She saw deep dark circles under his eyes and his cheeks had sunken in and it made her feel sad and at the same time her resolve to help cure him strengthened. She gently ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him on the forehead as he stirred. "We're beginning our approach into Seoul. We should be landing in about half an hour" she told him as he stirred and half-opened his eyes. "Five more minutes" said Tony as he turned over and covered his face with the sheets. Amii smiled, kissed him again and headed for the bathroom. She had showered and was getting dressed when Tony walked in, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Hello, beautiful" he said giving her a hug and a kiss "I'll be out in a jiffy" he added heading for the shower.

The steward was serving coffee and breakfast when Tony walked in looking dapper in a tailored suit and happier than she had seen him in a long time. "Hmmm…that smells good" he said as he sat down opposite her. The steward poured him a glass of chlorophyll and Tony waved him away "No, I want to have a normal meal not that shit. Get me some bacon and eggs, please" he added. "But what about the blood toxicity" Amii said. "Don't worry, it's not going to kill me if I don't drink the stuff once" Tony said with a smile as he ate his food, "and by the end of the day I should be back to normal and we can have a nice dinner together" he added as the monitor on the plane pinged. "What's up J.A.R.V.I.S?" Tony asked. "Message from Dr. Cho for you, sir" said the AI and a video popped up on screen. Dr. Cho was instructing someone in the background in Korean and she turned to the camera and said "Good morning, Mr. Stark. We have got everything ready for you at my lab. Thank you for sending all the details about your condition and your test results. From what I see, I am confident that we will have you patched up in no time. My assistant, Dr. Kim (a photo of the man popped up on screen), will be waiting at the airport for you and Dr. Singh and he will transport you to the facility. We will see you shortly". The message terminated as the pilot announced "We will be landing in Seoul in 10 minutes. Please put on your seatbelts".

They were met at the tarmac by Dr. Kim, who was a diminutive middle-aged guy with really sharp eyes that seemed to observe and absorb everything. He shook their hands and pointed them towards a large white van that stood a few meters away "We have got all the equipment in there and we will be running tests on you on the way, Mr. Stark. It will take us about an hour and half to get to the lab and we don't want to waste any time" he smiled. They got into the back of the van and the driver pulled out of the airport.

It looked like a mad scientist's lab inside and Amii felt a little nervous as Dr. Kim instructed Tony to take his jacket and shirt off and strapped him into a chair that was bolted to the floor. He drew some blood from Tony's arm, injected it into a test-tube, added some chemicals and put it into a centrifuge. He also had a portable MRI scanner of sorts that he used to transmit detailed scans of Tony's body to Dr. Cho and the team back at the lab. He took a long time pointing the scanner this way and that at Tony's chest as he captured every detail of the reactor, the lodged shrapnel and the chest cavity. The images were transmitted in real-time and the monitor at one end of the van showed a team of doctors and scientists plugging the data into computers and discussing between themselves. Dr. Cho came to the camera and began relaying instructions in rapid-fire Korean to Dr. Kim. He took out the vial of blood from the centrifuge and put it in another machine that began analyzing it and the results were apparently available to Dr Cho at the other end almost instantly. She seemed pleased at the results "Your tests look good, Mr. Stark. Your toxicity levels are manageable though we will have to conduct a blood purification process – it's like dialysis – to remove the toxin." The van stopped, the doors opened, and Dr. Cho waved at them in person as a team of doctors and nurses moved around and Dr. Kim transferred Tony to a stretcher, a nurse started an IV drip, and began wheeling him to the operation theater. "We will be doing that during the surgery to remove the shrapnel and the reactor from your chest" she continued "Thank you for the schematics for the electromagnet, Dr. Singh", she added, "that will help us immensely in the operation". She proudly pointed at her invention "We will put Tony in the Regeneration Cradle which will reconstruct his chest cavity once we remove the reactor. You will need to spend about 6 hours in the Cradle, Mr. Stark" she added "when you come out, you will be good as new!"

Amii had been holding on to Tony's hand all the time and she was reluctant to let go. "Don't worry Dr. Singh, we will have him back in no time" said Dr. Kim with a knowing smile and a nod. Tony smiled at her and squeezed her hand once "I will take you to the best restaurant in town for dinner, promise" he said as he was wheeled in to the room and the doors whooshed shut. Amii closed her eyes and said a silent prayer as she watched Dr. Cho and her team prep Tony for surgery.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony watched, half in appreciation and half in wonder, as Dr. Cho, Dr. Kim and the rest of the team at the lab turned machines and monitors on, hooked him into the blood purification system and performed pre-surgery checks – all very efficiently (and he liked that). For a moment his mind went back to the dark cave in Afghanistan where Dr. Ho Yinsen had performed a similar surgery to save his life, albeit with more ingenuity than precision medical equipment. The memory of Dr. Yinsen's death strengthened Tony's resolve to keep up his mission as Iron Man once he had recovered – Iron Man was a part of him he could not do away with even if he wanted to as it was his best bet to make up for all the time he had wasted in drunken haze. He turned and saw Amii outside the glass walls, her eyes closed, palms together as she mouthed a prayer, and he felt immensely thankful for having her in his life.

"We will be putting you under in a few seconds" Dr. Cho's voice brought him back from his reverie. He smiled at her "You come highly recommended, Dr. Cho. I guess I am in the right hands and though I prefer to be in control, this time I am ok to take a back seat. Would you mind if I had J.A.R.V.I.S observe?" he asked. "No, not at all" said Dr. Cho. Tony asked Dr. Kim to remove a portable projector from the pocket of his coat and activated J.A.R.V.I.S and tasked it with monitoring the procedure and providing Dr. Cho with assistance and information should she request it.

He felt a needle prick his arm as a nurse started another IV with sedatives. "You will be out for about 10 hours" said Dr. Cho as Tony's eyes became heavy as he floated away into unconsciousness.

Amii watched from the other side of the glass as Dr. Kim and her team got busy. She saw Tony talking to her and she received a ping on her smartwatch when J.A.R.V.I.S came online. She realized that Tony has tasked the AI with the job of monitoring the procedure. She watched as Dr. Kim's team went ahead with the surgery to remove the arc reactor and the splinters from Tony's chest. At the moment that the reactor came out, Tony went into cardiac arrest! The monitors started beeping loudly, red lights began to flash and Amii saw Tony's body heave as the doctors began to work frantically to bring the situation under control. Amii's felt her heart pounding in fear and she nearly fainted as she saw Tony flatline. She screamed "What's happening? Is Tony ok?" into the intercom. Dr. Kim's calm voice came back "Do not worry, Dr. Singh, we anticipated this eventuality and are well prepared to tackle it. I am going to darken the glass wall now and you won't be able to see into the OT for a while. This will help me and my team focus on Tony. It will take 15 hours or more for the surgery. I suggest that you grab some food and rest." And the glass went black.

Amii screamed in frustration and pounded at the glass wall for a few seconds before giving up and collapsing to the floor. She willed herself to calm down and took deep, deliberate breaths, getting her mind under control. The cool, rational part of her took over and she realized that Dr. Kim was right. The best team of doctors in the world was in that room which meant Tony was in good hands. She and Tony had discussed this eventuality and Tony had said that something like this would happen when the reactor came out and he had prepped Dr. Kim with the necessary information on how to deal with such a scenario. J.A.R.V.I.S was working with Dr. Kim and was providing the data around the reactor core, how it was linked with the casing in Tony's chest and how to remove it without killing him in the process.

Amii knew that she was not going to be of much use inside the OT and staying in the observation room was only going to make her more antsy. So she decided to step out for some air, she know she won't be able to eat or sleep till she was sure that Tony was ok.


End file.
